Freedom Debt Relief - How good a company is it?

I enrolled with FDR in last August 2009. I, too, was in panic mode and my monthly credit payments exceeded $1100. Despite my high revolving credit, my credit score was great. However, the consultant with FDR calmed my panic and quoted me a monthly payment of 800 which seemed a hell of a lot better than 1100. I read through the contract--how my credit score would plummet, how any settlements could be deemed income and therefore taxed, the upfront fees and subsequent account fees, yadda yadda yadda. My consultant also informed me that I could withdraw at any time. And that is exactly what I intend to do after dealing with the credit agencies myself. If I had done this at the time I closed the accounts, I could have saved myself the money, worry, stomach knots, and credit score. Negotiating on my own resulted in payments, for all 3 lines of credit owed, less than the monthly payment I was putting into the GCS account. But no, FDR said, companies are not willing to settle with you. Furthermore, one company in particular (Resurgent Capital Services), who has the lousiest customer service I have ever had the experienc of dealing with, has called me three times after being requested not to call me at work. What happened to those cease and desist letters to stop the phone harassment? Each time I speak with a rep, they swear I never told them to stop. The woman that called me today asked to speak with my HR. I don't think so missy! I'm not having that at work and if they are willing to work with me, such as through a hardship program as the rep today suggested, then I will do that rather than risk litigation and more penalties.

Basically, my questions are: has anyone withdrawn from the FDR program and (1) were told to pay further fees and (2) were able to withdraw their funds from the GCS account (without hassle and in a timely manner)? I have about $892 in there minus the fees already.

I understand that FDR may and will keep their fees without refund. However, did they really try to negotiate my credit settlements, even in the short time I've been enrolled in their program? Likely not. So, per the "agreement", I am short of my plan period. No, I didn't give them a full chance to negotiate my settlements. Nor do I have the utmost confidence they will be able to do so. Fine, keep the fees. But also per the "agreement", the GCS account is mine and owned by me (per Special Purpose Account Application section). Technically, the additional funds leftover after FDR takes out their fees, belong to me. And I most assuredly want that money back to start paying my credit companies.

I haven't spoken with either company re: unenrollment and I plan to do so shortly. My plan of action is to speak with GCS first about closing the account since FDR has already withdrawn their fees. This way FDR can't go in and remove other "fees" as I believe I read on another complaint board from another person in similar shoes. If I cancel GCS now, they also cannot take out further account service fees since it would be closed. My payment was just deposited today so I am well within the notification time frame to cancel my agreement. I hope there are no further adverse effects stemming from the cancellation of my terms with FDR. I've been up to date on paying into the account and have not defaulted in any way. I do not see anything re: additional fees should I unenroll. Call it paranoia or just trying to protect my wallet.

I have not used them personally because I have heard a lot of bad things about them.

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Can I get a refund on the money I deposited in my account even if I not with them anymore?

you should be able to get some of it back atleast i know alot of times when you cancel a program like this they sock you with all kinds of fees though i guess it would depend on how much you have paid in

The BBB means nothing really. All it means is that a company may try to respond to claims. It doesn't mean they are a good company or a bad company. If you look up the better business report on the better business bureau themselves, they aren't accredited either lol!

So I would just like to get into the mix of all this talk about freedom debt relief I have been working here for about 2 years now I am one of the most experienced debt consultant in the company. I would like to reach out to all of you who may be in debt and don't honestly really know what to do with your finances and would like to know how this program really works and the total breakdown of what really happens. Let me also start off by saying Freedom debt relief is now getting their A+ rating back from the BBB and the California law suit is now been favored FDR we just won that lawsuit and now are being claimed to be the best settlement company in the nation. (this is just what I have heard I know personally that we settle the most debt out of all 500+ companies in the nation). So this is how the program works.......We consolidate your debt into a program where we provide a payment plan so that you can accumulate the money necessary to settle your debts for about a 1/3 of what you owe normally it is about 40% after our fee of 15% the total is 55%. I have in the past settled my own debts and still couldn't get down to 40% even with FDR's fee your still getting a pretty good deal. Now most of you say that FDR took my money and didn't do anything well I would like to justify to those individuals that pulled out of the program in 2-6 months time that are so very impatient that they thought "I'm pulling out of the program I'm going to find another route" well guys and gals after you enter into the program for 2-6 months you really only have about 2 different routes 1. Bankruptcy chapter 7 and 13 or you can just run away from the debts and they will throw you into their litigation depts and place judgements on you. This program that we put together is a solid program trust me I enroll around 40-50 people a month as a company we on average enroll around 64 million dollars per month. You have to go from start to finish with this kind of thing guys honestly you cant drop out after the 4th month it doesn't work that way. First off negotiations don't happen till about the 3rd or 4th month anyways many people get the perception that as soon as you get enrolled is the time we are going to start working deals well answer this question for me if you owed me money and wanted to work a deal how would I work anything out with you if you had nothing to offer??? I can't work any deals out until I have money to negotiate with now I know a lot of people also think that for the first 3-4 month nothing happens and everything goes to FDR fee's the reality about that is creditors don't want to negotiate your account until 2-4 months anyways so there really isn't anything we fully can do until about the 2nd-4th month so we try to get 5% of the fee's out of the way as quickly as possible and then after the 4th month the fee's are much less because of the fact that we need to save money because now the creditors are open arms to settlements. A lot of times we start off with the lowest debt just to show you a quick progression for the impatient people that worry every single day if we are doing our jobs right. You also have to understand that when you have a larger debt 10k + it takes longer to save up enough money to eliminate and settle that debt. I have personally seen settlements for a $25k card get settled completly at $4,500 our negotiation dept works their tails off to acheive the best settlements possible so that we can get "you" out of the program earlier than expected. All we want to do is get you in and out as quickly as possible 80% of the time each client will end the program earlier than what we told you when you signed up. There are people that work here and are in the program as well you think we would enroll ourselves if this program was a hoax and a bunch of BS??? NO way we have family's as well and we would feel 10x more of a jackass if we enrolled into a program that later screwed us and we happen to work here!!! This program is offered to the individuals that are struggling some individuals are still current but hardly making it which later on will lead to being late and past due down the road. Its better to be ready with a gameplan on how your going to get out of debt rather than worrying about how your going to make your next minimum payments. When you enter into the program you have to go through till the end yes your FICO score will decrease because of the lates that will show up on your credit report but down the road everything will be paid off and your can always rebuild your credit score its not like you don't have other items that you current pay on each month that help you build your score (Mortgages, car payments, cell phones etc.) get rid of the credit cards get your self out of debt I know you don't pay your bills with your credit score and I know you don't place your credit score in your gas tank or on the table for dinner. What is your credit score doing for you as of right now........not much is it when do you use your credit score.......usually when you want to get into more debt right??? Exactly. This is my plan for the individuals that are thinking hey this doesn't seem too bad honestly......My plan for you is get into the program add your tax returns or any other money your able to spare so that you can speed up this program as quickly as possible be with the program not against it meaning work with us not against us we are your ally's not your enemy treat us that way because that is our perception of you and everyone else thats in our program. Think about your options the small list of one's you have 1. Do what your doing now making minimums 2. Refinance your house (that is if you have the equity to do so) 3. CCCS (consumer credit counseling company's) which are a joke because they work for the creditors not you please don't get that confused your creditors CREATED those companies you have a 15% chance of going from start to finish and successfully completing those programs 4. Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcy and 5. Debt Settlement this is what we do settle your debt for about half or less than what is owed and place you in a payment plan thats usually half of what your doing right now and when all the debts are settled and done will refer you to our affiliates for credit repair so you can get your score right back up to where it was as quickly as possible.

Let me know if you have any questions FYI this is how it really works.

Freedom Debt Relief was the worst decision I ever made regarding taking steps towards getting my debt under control.... In 2005, I found myself heartbroken, laid off and left to drown alone with a very expensive $14,000 pricetag to be paid for "falling in love".... 4 months and a mended heart later, I found myself in a situation where i driven to attain the life I deserved and i started with my debt. I spent what I thought was a lot of time looking into and educating myself with different options, terminology, comprehension of lending, and laws about my rights but looking back on it I SHOULD have spent A LOT more time researching how easy it is to get played when vulnerable and overly eager for resolution to a desperate situation....Freedom Debt Relief sounded like the answer to end my nightmare, I even secretly developed an instant innocent little crush for this Kevin guy that was going to help me, he even drafted the contract, emailed it to me, and was kind enough sum up the process....in a nutshell, and AFTER I pay ALL of my freedom fees, then negotiations with the creditors will take place resulting in a settlement of usually 40% of the original debt!!! it gets even more exciting...check this... the loans are then reported as paid in full, closed by consumer on my credit report, no negative results will consequence!! OMG!!! YAY!!! Not even a month later cease and desist letters had been sent to every creditor, along with my change of address and phn# forms signed over in blood (address and phn# is changed to Freedom's info to "remove the client from stress", but really its so the client doesnt find out your paying them to do a job that your pet snail could accomplish more competently)... I was on my way to a better place, no harrassing calls anymore, no death threat mail, it was relieving....and easy to let another 4 months fly by in the midst of your rediscovered happiness, I decided to call Kevin to get a status on my loans. 2 weeks and 5 unreturned phone calls later I heard the phone ring, finally hes returning my call! (im sure he was just super busy, I understand...) Wrong! It was a collection agency, they bought my charged off loan and didnt have my updated address or phn#...what charged off loan????? I dont have any charged off loans!!! I panicked, and not hearing back from Kevin I called all my creditors to find out the status of my loans (i dont get any mail anymore, keep in mind, i changed my address) I found out that from the August 2005, until now May 2006, 8 months ive been with Freedom, my total debt increased to 27000.00 in unpaid late fees, interest, attorneys fees, and over the limit fees, in addition to 5 loans resulting in charge offs due to neglect in corresponding to many settlement offers made and civil suits filed!!! WTF??? Isnt that what im paying Freedom for???? I started researching info on this company Freedom Debt Relief and realized they are nothing better than a mirage of false hopes in a hot, brittle bone sucking hopeless desert....I consulted an attorney friend of my dads who was kind enough to give me honest advice, and referred me to CCCS and Debtor's Eduction who are just amazing by the way, and it was made clear that the damage they caused was not only irreversible but too damaged to regain control of again, my choices were to pay each lender off in full to avoid further civil suits or withdraw from the program, and declare bankruptcy....the only thing I had a shot at was by law Freedom had to return a portion of my fees paid to them...( $3000 paid in fees and a $13000.00 increase in debt, 3 months later i finally received my refund check from FDR that i needed to fund my bankruptcy suit....my total refund $192.76!!!! I hope my experience with them clears up any confusion people are haveing regarding Freedom Debt relief and their character, makes you wonder about the larger issue at hand, how do these weeds for crooked companies get away with rooting themselves all over the country and legally are able to continue destroying good people's lives...????

TO THE GUY ABOVE YOUR RIDICUOUS AND ONLY AN INDIVIDUAL THAT IS PROMOTING SOMEONE ELSES BUSINESS "attorney friend of my dads who was kind enough to give me honest advice, and referred me to CCCS and Debtor's Eduction who are just amazing by the way"

What you have just explained um.....never happens..... isn't that most of the time the individuals that contact any settlement company are usually the people that are unable to keep up with their minimum payments??? ........Yes I am correct now initially what options do you really have? Well for your convenience I have listed them below..... CCCS Companies do not work for the client they work for the creditor and you wonder why CCCS companies have a 15-20% success rate. Your payment with a CCCS companies is probably 10% less than what your currently doing with your creditors now. Here are some articles about some of the so called "Amazing" CCCS Companies out there

[URL="http://www.consumerlaw.org/initiatives/test_and_comm/credit_counseling.shtml"]http://www.consumerlaw.org/initiatives/test_and_comm/credit_counseling.shtml[/URL] is a detail of the complaints brought up about the Consumer Credit Counseling industry with some things to be aware of if you are looking more into this route. [URL="http://www.debtworkout.com/bad_credit/credit_counseling/credit_counseling_services_faq.html"]http://www.debtworkout.com/bad_credit/credit_counseling/credit_counseling_services_faq.html[/URL] is an easy-to-read account of many of the questions often brought up about CCCS

...... Anyone that is honestly reading this other than the people from other CCCS companies that are trying to promote their own business by ridiculously bringing ours down "yea very professional of you I might add" just talk to someone that has been with a CCCS program you will find that their experience was everything but pleasant!!!!

[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]1) Pay the creditors back the usual way: [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri] If at all possible, pay much more than the minimum payments. The best way to lower cost is to pay off the entire balance in full immediately. If you are only paying minimum payments, or close to minimum payments, you can potentially pay up to 3 to 10 times the original debt amount. For example: If you pay 30% interest on a charge card, you are paying in interest the entire original loan amount almost every three years, and not getting the debts paid down! Since you are mostly just paying finance fee???s you could potentially pay for up to 10-20 years. For someone with $10,000 in debt it could cost them $30,000 or even $75,000 or more depending on interest rates and monthly payment amounts.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]2) Bankruptcy:[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]Chapter 13: also known as reorganization, since you pay an attorney and then a trustee to set up a repayment plan and then the trustee administers your repayment of a portion of your debts. Chapter 13 typically allows debtors to keep property, like a mortgaged house or a car. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan may take around five years to pay down your debts. This is typically a trustee managed payment plan to re-pay your debts, and the trustee will set your monthly payment based on your income and assets.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]Chapter 7: known as liquidation. Chapter 7 involves liquidation of all assets that are not exempt in your state, and then the proceeds go to pay down your debts. Exempt property may include work-related tools and basic household furnishings. Some of your property may be sold by a court-appointed official or turned over to your creditors. You can file for Chapter 7 only once every six years. This is the most aggressive debt resolution strategy for people who cannot afford any real monthly payments and are in severe hardship. [/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]Both types of bankruptcy may resolve unsecured debts and stop foreclosures, repossessions, garnishments, and freeze debt collection activities. Both also provide exemptions that allow people to keep certain assets, although exemption amounts vary from state to state. If bankruptcy is an option you are looking to explore, you should seek counsel from a local bankruptcy attorney. You will also have to go through court mandated bankruptcy counseling sessions before discharge.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]Note that personal bankruptcy usually does not erase child support, alimony, fines, taxes and some student loan obligations. And unless you have an acceptable plan to catch up on your debt under Chapter 13, bankruptcy usually does not allow you to keep property when your creditor has an unpaid mortgage or lien on it. Both forms of Bankruptcy will show on your report for 7 to 10 years and are a public record document.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]3) Debt Consolidation Loan:[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]A true debt consolidation loan program is basically a refinancing of your mortgage or other loan. To qualify, you will need good credit and available equity to put as collateral on the new, larger loan. This program shifts unsecured debts to a new, larger secured loan. This is a good way to get your bills in order, have one monthly payment and to get lower interest. The downside is you that you have just made your unsecured debt secured. You need to make sure you can keep up with the payments or you could potentially lose whatever property is now tied into the loan. The biggest risk here is the risk of moving unsecured debts to secured debts and increasing the risk of foreclosure or repossession if you cannot make payments. It is also challenging to qualify unless you have significant free cash flow (a low debt-to-income ratio), available equity in your home, and good credit[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]4) Consumer Credit Counseling (Also known as CCCS)[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri] [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]CCCS will help you reduce your interest a little bit and lower your monthly payment. You will still pay the principal but will not pay as much towards finance fees. With each payment you will actually be reducing the balance instead of just covering the interest and fees each month. You will pay the CCCS one monthly amount which will then be distributed to each one of your creditors, on a monthly basis. These programs normally last around five years. The downside is that CCC???s are reported to the Credit Bureau as 3rd party help. Lenders look at 3rd party help as the same risk factor as a chapter 13 bankruptcy. A debt management plan, administered by a CCCS firm will not hurt your FICO score but most lenders will not lend to you as they perceive it similar to a bankruptcy. Cost wise and financially 80% of individuals are unable to afford these programs because the payment rarely decreases enough for you to consider it an option. [/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]5) Debt Settlement [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri] [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Calibri]Debt settlement will typically reduce your total debt by as much as half and will frequently have the lowest monthly program payment of all of your options. These programs usually last 24 -40 months but can be as short as you can manage, based on your monthly payment (a higher monthly payment will be a shorter program). Debt settlement firms negotiate directly with your creditors to reduce your debt total and use many different strategies to accomplish this. The initial downside is that you usually have some ???past dues??? that will show on your credit report, so your credit score will be impacted. In many cases, however, getting your debts settled to zero in a short amount of time is the healthiest financial strategy for cash flows and credit. By resolving debt you could help your credit profile which is made up heavily of your debt to income ratio. This strategy is typically the fastest and lowest cost method of resolving debts with a low payment, while avoiding bankruptcy. [/FONT][/COLOR]
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I did some research on CCCS programs before enrolling into FDR's program I found out a lot of information h[COLOR=black]ave you ever wondered why credit cards companies are willing to work with Consumer Credit Counseling Services to lower your interest rate? The answer is simple: CCCSs are working for the creditor, not you. CCCSs were originally established by the credit industry as a means of recovering money from the thousands of people who go delinquent on their credit card payments every year.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]HISTORY[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]The CCCS model was established back in the early ???80s when credit card companies noticed that many people were missing their minimum payments and starting to default on their debt. At that point there was very little a consumer could do to get financial relief, outside of filing bankruptcy. So credit card companies banded together to help establish and fund CCCS organizations in order to recover money from people struggling to make ends meet.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]Acting as separate organizations from the actual creditors, CCCSs were able to put on a friendly face and claim they were established to help the consumer. By calling themselves ???non-profit,??? they were able to lure thousands of people into these programs while still charging high interest and recovering 100% of the principle. Not a bad deal for the creditors![/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]Due to the lucrative nature of these programs and recent changes in federal bankruptcy laws, many similar organizations have sprung up around the country ??? usually calling themselves "consolidation programs" or " debt management programs.??? Despite these sunny euphemisms, the end result is the same: CCCSs are nothing more than third-party debt collectors for the credit card companies.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]HOW THEY GET PAID[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]CCCSs are paid a commission by the credit card companies[/COLOR][COLOR=black] based on the debt recovered from you, anywhere from 8 to 15%. This means that for every $100 you pay out, the CCCS pockets as much as $15. The average person pays around $500 per month, resulting in a kickback of as much as $75 a month from the creditors for each person in the program.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]But the CCCS also charges you a service fee.[/COLOR][COLOR=black] Not only are the credit card companies paying them a kickback, but you???re paying them directly. A typical CCCS monthly service fee is $20. So the CCCS is collecting money from two sources: The creditors are paying them $75 a month; you???re paying them $20 a month. Take another look at that and ask yourself: Who do you think they are working for?[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]But that???s not the only way the CCCS is getting paid. In many cases, your monthly payment is put into an interest-bearing account before the transfer is made to the creditor. CCCSs try to keep the money in this account for as long as possible in order to earn as much interest as possible. In effect, the CCCS takes your money and puts to work for themselves![/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]This can be extremely lucrative, because many of these CCCSs have tens of thousands of clients. Consider this: if a CCCS has 50,000 clients paying an average of $500 a month, they are putting $25 million dollars into these interest-bearing accounts each month![/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]CREDIT IMPACT[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]With a CCCS, you???re essentially hiring a company to make your monthly minimum payments for you. If you hire a good, reliable CCCS, such as Care One Credit, they will do a good job of managing this responsibility. But not all are so reliable, and if the CCCS you hire does not distribute your monthly payment in a timely fashion, your credit report will reflect late payments.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]So you are not guaranteed to keep current on all your debt, even though that is one of the key selling points of a CCCS.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]Also, every CCCS is required to report to the credit bureaus. This results in a tag on each account you enroll ??? this disclosure carries the same risk factor as a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and will limit your future lending opportunities accordingly. So even if the CCCS manages all your payments perfectly, as far as your credit profile is concerned, you might as well have declared bankruptcy.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CREDIT COUNSELING AND DEBT SETTLEMENT[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black]It might be instructive to look at the core differences between a debt settlement program such as ours and a Consumer Credit Counseling Service:[/COLOR]
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• [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]With debt settlement, you pay off a portion of your principle and no interest is charged; with a CCCS, you pay the full principle PLUS interest.[/SIZE][/FONT]
  
• [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]The average debt settlement term is two to three years; the average CCCS term is more than five years.[/SIZE][/FONT]
  
• [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]With debt settlement, the debt you enroll goes past due and is written off by your creditor; with a CCCS, your debt stays current, assuming the CCCS pays the creditors on time.[/SIZE][/FONT]
  
• [FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]With debt settlement, there is absolutely no disclosure on your credit report that says you hired a third-party to remediate the debt; CCCSs are required to make a disclosure to your credit bureaus that carries precisely the same risk factor as a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and will limit your future lending opportunities accordingly.[/SIZE][/FONT]
  

http://www.live-pr.com/en/freedom-debt-relief-announces-successful-resolution-r1048380431.htm

Seems CA was in the wrong here, why is CA so nasty to businesses that do nothing wrong? They charge enough Taxes and CA is still broke! CA sure supports the marijuana industry though, maybe they figured its a good place to get more tax revenue lol

Im dealing with Freedom debt relief right now personaly im very happy with them I call them up and someone is right there to help me out even in the event I need to extend my payment for a week very friendly very helpful but my creditors on the other hand have been contacting my family since I no longer have a phone and saying there not receving any letters from freedom. Chase one of my major creditors is getting upset with me because I Haven't payed them in over 5 months
im going to call freedom in a few days and find out whats going on chase wants me to opt out of the programs and just pay them but where does that leave me with the other 5 or so creditors that want payment ive got more collection letters over here than I can count but freedom just tells me dont worry about it we will get letters sent out
Im trusting there doing what they say there doing like I said very friendly and very helpful I dont know if there a scam honestly I can't find anything very bad about them on the net.
O yea currently Freedom switched me over to another company Named CNI Inc Century Negoations Inc

Yeah, don't worry about it, says FDR. They won't sue you for about a year, after that they won't actually get around to garnishing your wages for another year. But before they garnish your wages they will find out where you bank and clean out your accounts. This is the reality of debt settlement companies. As soon as Chase cleaned out my checking account I called FDR and got nowhere fast so I called Chase's attorney that was handling the case and got my money put back in my account and had a settlement in writing that day for about 53% of what was owed. Keep in mind though, that even though it was 53% of the current balance it was still more than what the original balance on the account was before enrolling FDR's program and I also got the pleasure of giving FDR $6000 in fees and ended up settling with the card company myself and now I have a $1300 tax bill for the amount that was forgiven. Then only positive thing about FDR's program was that it actually gave me some breathing room for a couple years before the credit card companies started garnishing my wages. There is absolutely no way the card companies are going to wait for 3-4 years for somebody to pay them, they WILL sue you and they WILL win and they WILL garnish your bank accounts and wages, it took them 2 years for me and fortunately I had saved the money to pay them off by working 2 jobs for 3 years, it had nothing to do with being in FDR's program. If you are going to stop paying on your debts put the money into your own account and save the huge fees which will help you get your own settlement. It's very easy to negotiate with the credit card companies yourself if you aren't intimidated by them. They would rather get paid something than have you bankrupt.

REDWOOD CITY ??? A $950,000 lawsuit settlement between a San Mateo-based debt reduction company, state and local authorities as well as clients is being challenged by an attorney who says it is unfair.
Sacramento-based attorney Stuart Talley says the settlement could keep many of those who did business with Freedom Debt Relief from getting their money back. The company was sued by the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office and the California Department of Corporations after customers complained that they were being misinformed and overcharged. Talley, who also is leading a separate lawsuit against the company in federal court, wants a judge to undo the settlement or force the company to fix what he thinks is wrong with the agreement.
A court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 5 before San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Carol Mittlesteadt, attorneys said.
Under the terms of the settlement reached in December, Freedom Debt Relief agreed to pay $500,000 in refunds to clients and a combined $450,000 to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office and the California Department of Corporations as compensation for the money they spent on their investigations. In order to get partial refunds, clients who contracted with Freedom Debt Relief between Nov. 1, 2004, and May 31, 2008, have to sign a release promising not to sue the company, according to court documents.
Talley says clients have no idea how much of a refund they will get
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You can check out bills.com recommending their services here - http://www.bills.com/blog/freedom-debt-relief/

Problem is - They are owned by the same company....In 2002 Andrew Housser (???Housser???) and Bradford Stroh (???Stroh???) founded Freedom
Financial Network, LLC (???FFN???), a Delaware limited liability company, and during all relevant times acted as its co-chief executive officers. Previously, Housser worked for Lorantec Systems, a suspended California corporation, and for Abenona Networks, Inc., a dissolved corporation, both of which were located at the same address, 1052 Penleton Avenue, Sunnyvale, California. On March 10, 2003, FFN first filed with the California Secretary of State???s Office its articles of organization.
2.
FFN operates in Sacramento, California and Tempe, Arizona, but has its headquarters at
1875 S. Grant Street, San Mateo, California. Other entities co-located with FFN???s include, but are not limited to, Alivio Holdings, LLC; Alivio Mortgage, LLC; Bills.com; Bills.com, Inc.; Bills.com LLC; FDR; Freedom Debt Relief; Freedom Debt Relief, Inc.; Freedom Debt Relief, LLC; Freedom Mortgage; and Freedom Tax Relief, LLC. FFN and affiliated entities are in violation of the laws found in the California Financial Code that govern proraters, bill payers, finance lenders and brokers.

So much for impartial recommendations from Bills.com

Here is the DA's press release, so you all can make up your own minds. It does say "with no findings of liabilty" but will pay $500,000 into a fund, for clients to receive a partial refund; $360,000 as reimbursement of costs to the DA's office and the DOC. and pay $90,000 for alleged violations of the home solicitations law.

If you want to review the DA's release, you can view it here: http://www.corp.ca.gov/press/news/2009/FDRPressStatement12-23-09.pdf

It was much harder to find than the releases put out by Freedom Debt Relief...

I just suspended my account with Freedom debt, I understand that it is not a quick program, but I did not expect them to not contact my creditors nor did I expect them to keep over half of my money for doing nothing. I made 9 payments while in the program totaling 2500.00. When I cancelled and received my check it was for 1066.00, the was taken for activation fees, never was told this upfront.
Never received any kind of statement from them on a monthly, or quarterly basis. Had I researched beforehand I would have stayed far far away from this company. What a rip off for doing nothing.

Kde200:

It does state in your enrollment package that there are activation fees and monthly maintenance fees. You should have read through this entirely and signed that you read it. I had to and presume that is their SOP. In fact, the rep who handled my account and set it up read it all over the phone to me as I read it on paper to be sure I understood everything. Your statements should have come from the bank, GCS, and not from FDR. Had you looked at your banking statement it would have shown you what you had deposited, what fees were paid, and what was left to deal with creditors. The same is reported in your FDR online account.

I am by no means advocating their business having been a past client. However, none of the maintenance fees were "hidden" unless you blindly signed the enrollment package.

Pretty funny to watch the customer service reps and managers posting fake testimonials about Freedom Financial on here to get people to sign up. I used to work there--Tempe, AZ office. Trust me, THIS HAPPENS. And considering the nature of the sexual harrasment suits in that company, I was glad to get out as soon as I could. When you have to pay people 15.00 an hour to spread disinformation on a message board, your company shouldn't be operating.

Oh and PS--when these guys talk about how "TASC" accrediation is some type of assurance that this is all up and up--TASC is a board set up by the settlement industry--a bunch of guys just like freedom debt. it would be like a bunch of ponzi scheme guys getting together, forming a board, and then trying to state that because they're a member of that board, we won't rip you off. PUH-LEASE.

Don't do it!!! They fail to return phone calls and never once contacted or returned calls to my creditor. I ended up getting sued, as a result, and got very little money returned to me.

Yes I agree Freedom Dept relief is a good company I joined this company and had been satisfied with them. Just hang in there and you'll see a good result. Of course you may face some difficult time but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You can be out of dept. Thanks FDR.

Quote:

:rolleyes: are you kidding me????? this company will take you for a ride, steal your money. lies after lies after lies. thanks for the employee comment. that gave me a great laugh!!!!! if you use this company be prepared to be hauled into court, liens against your bank acct, checking acct, and house. run away while you still can. yeah the employee is is going to lie to you!!! they get a commission! they will say anything to steal your money. and good luck trying to get any of it back!

oh that's too painful. I understand and that is not an easy money to lose...

Kiss it good bye!

:mad:Anyone out there know that this site is owned by an Indian guy (from india) who makes money competing with the companies that he bashes on his site?:mad:

I joined up with freedom and they burnt me on the very first creditor. They set up a payment system and then was either late or didn't pay the last one and the creditor came to me for the full amount. Couldn't get freedom to do anything. They still got their money for the transaction. Believe me, it's a scam.

A federal court in CA just approved the 1.9 million dollar settlement to refund fees to customers of Freedom Financial Network, Freedom debt relief. There were a couple of other defendants, Global Client Solutions and Rocky Mountain Bank.

If you live in WA state, or opted out of the class settlement, you are not part of the class.

Question:

If Freedom debt relief is so great, why do they end up settling lawsuits brought against them for doing the wrong thing in states like Washington and paying 7 figures for doing the wrong thing nationwide?

I was with them 36 months. They assured me I would be debt free in 36 months.At 36 months ,they said it would take another year. Plese do not fall for them. They do not return calls or messages . Can never talk to same person. Run you around.

I joined them for 3 months. I followed all of their directions and the phone calls from creditors were awful. I started getting letters from creditors threatning to sue me. I called Freedom Debt Releif and cancelled. ( I did get all of the money that I gave them back) By the time i cancelled I was three or four months behind on all of my bills. I have sinced called them explained what happened and they are all working with me to get my accounts current. Two credit card companies cancelled my account but I am still paying them off. I think you are really better off calling the companines explaining the situtation and try to work with them to come up with a workable solution.

I settled my debt approx 28 cents on the dollar. I used a company (blank) that didn't charge any upfront fees and I paid the creditor directly. They did a great job and even stopped all the annoying phone calls. They can be reached at

]keep your trash off the site. 28 cents on the dollar also known as 28 PERCENT... ridiculous.

I personally have experience with Freedom and Superior Debt Relief, and Superior is by far the best. They take a lower percentage and really fight for you. They have gotten me fabulous settlements even when they have gone to an instate attorney. On the flip side, my husband is with Freedom. The one thing that bothers me is you don't have one rep that you are working with; it's who ever answers the phone when you call. Also, two accounts have gone to instate attorneys and the settlements have been for the full balance; however Freedom still gets their money. Thus, we end up spending even more than if we would have settled it ourselves. When I reported to them that one of our accounts had gone to an instate attorney they did nothing and we got a summons to appear in court. They definitely dropped the ball. Superior on the other hand acts quickly and they are much more personable and caring. Personally, I would definitely recommend Superior over Freedom any day. Superior also gives you four months of credit repair on them.

I have setlled all my debts with creditors and have paid FDR all fees they said i wpuld need to pay to complete all my settlements,did comply,however FDR still draws money from my acct. and still says I owe more money,when all creditors have been satisfied.